i was all set to write yet another scathing post about the increases on the tube (now at a lovely £4 [up 33%!!!], equivalent of nearly $8 just for a single journey into central london, and strikes scheduled for alter this month!!! what a fucking joke for a subway which barely even runs.)

but there’s this: will the massachusetts legislature have the courage of their convictions and refuse to call a vote on banning gay marriage under the state constitution, on this, the last day of the legislative session? will they have the courage to stand up for the rights of the 8,000 married gay couples who have been living in wedded bliss for two years?

The newly elected governor said this:

“This is not just another question for popular decision. This is a question, under the equal protection clause, about what freedoms the minority is entitled to,” Patrick told reporters after meeting with DiMasi. “This is the first time that the petition process has ever been used to consider reinserting discrimination into the constitution.”

The legislature has, to this point, tried to avoid a vote on the issue.

I can only hope they dig deep, consult their conscience, and do what they know in their heart to be right – to protect the rights of *all* massachusetts citizens, regardless of sexual orientation. everyone deserves the right to marry the person they love. gays deserve nothing less than what every other couple has – the right to be part of a legal family. the right to stand up before the world and be united and recognised and counted as equals.

so i only hope that the lawmakers of the state will take a few minutes to stop and think about what it feels like to fall head over heels in love and want to be married and live happily ever after with the person of their dreams. and then find the courage to stand their ground in the face of everyone who would want to tell others that they’re not entitled to that same dream – because they’re gay.

update: : igh:: clearly I overestimated their collective backbone…

Lawmakers in Massachusetts, the only state where gay marriage is legal, just voted to advance a proposed constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage, a critical step toward putting the measure on the 2008 ballot. The Legislature approved the measure 132-61. The initiative, which only needed 50 votes to pass, must still be passed in the next legislative session before it will be put on the ballot in 2008.

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